§ 435 — Approval of tax-free NY areas

§ 435. Approval of tax-free NY areas. 1. The president or chief\nexecutive officer of any state university campus, community college or\ncity university campus seeking to sponsor a tax-free NY area and have\nsome of its eligible land specified under subdivision one of section\nfour hundred thirty-two of this article be designated as a tax-free NY\narea must submit a plan to the commissioner that specifies the land or\nspace the campus or college wants to include, describes the type of\nbusiness or businesses that may locate on that land or in that space,\nexplains how those types of businesses align with or further the\nacademic mission of the campus or college and how participation by those\ntypes of businesses in the START-UP NY program would have positive\ncommunity and economic benefits, and describes the process the campus or\ncollege will follow to select participating businesses. At least thirty\ndays prior to submitting such plan, the campus or college must provide\nthe municipality or municipalities in which the proposed tax-free NY\narea is located, local economic development entities, the applicable\ncampus or college faculty senate, union representatives and the campus\nstudent government with a copy of the plan. In addition, if the plan of\nthe campus or college includes land or space located outside of the\ncampus boundaries, the campus or college must consult with the\nmunicipality or municipalities in which such land or space is located\nprior to including such space or land in its proposed tax-free NY area\nand shall give preference to underutilized properties. Before approving\nor rejecting the plan submitted by a state university campus, community\ncollege or city university campus, the commissioner shall consult with\nthe chancellor of the applicable university system or his or her\ndesignee.\n 2. The president or chief executive officer of any private college or\nuniversity or of any state university campus, community college or city\nuniversity campus seeking to sponsor a tax-free NY area and have some of\nits eligible land specified under subdivision two of section four\nhundred thirty-two of this article be designated as a tax-free NY area\nmust submit a plan to the commissioner that specifies the land or space\nthe college or university wants to include, describes the type of\nbusiness or businesses that may locate on that land or in that space,\nexplains how those types of businesses align with or further the\nacademic mission of the college or university and how participation by\nthose types of businesses in the START-UP NY program would have positive\ncommunity and economic benefits, and describes the process the campus or\ncollege will follow to select participating businesses. In addition, if\nthe plan of the campus or college includes land or space located outside\nof the campus boundaries, the campus or college must consult with the\nmunicipality or municipalities in which such land or space is located\nprior to including such space or land in its proposed tax-free NY area\nand shall notify local economic development entities. The commissioner\nshall forward the plan submitted under this subdivision to the START-UP\nNY approval board. In evaluating such plans, the board shall examine the\nmerits of each proposal, including but not limited to, compliance with\nthe provisions of this article, reasonableness of the economic and\nfiscal assumptions contained in the application and in any supporting\ndocumentation and potential of the proposed project to create new jobs,\nand, except for proposals for designation of eligible land under\nparagraph (c) of subdivision two of section four hundred thirty-two of\nthis article, shall prioritize for acceptance and inclusion into the\nSTART-UP NY program plans for tax-free NY areas in counties that contain\na city with a population of one hundred thousand or more without a\nuniversity center as defined in subdivision seven of section three\nhundred fifty of the education law on the effective date of this\narticle. No preference shall be given based on the time of submission of\nthe plan, provided that any submission deadlines established by the\nboard are met. In addition, the board shall give preference to private\ncolleges or universities that include underutilized properties within\ntheir proposed tax-free NY areas. The board by a majority vote shall\napprove or reject each plan forwarded to it by the commissioner.\n 3. A campus, university or college may amend its approved plan,\nprovided that the campus, university or college may not violate the\nterms of any lease with a business located in the approved tax-free NY\narea. In addition, if a business located in a tax-free NY area does not\nhave a lease with a campus, university or college, and such business is\nterminated from the START-UP NY program pursuant to paragraph (b) of\nsubdivision four of section four hundred thirty-six of this article, and\nsubsequently does not relocate outside of the tax-free NY area, a\ncampus, university or college may amend its approved plan to allocate an\namount of vacant land or space equal to the amount of space occupied by\nthe business that is terminated. The amendment must be approved pursuant\nto the procedures and requirements set forth in subdivision one or two\nof this section, whichever is applicable.\n 4. The START-UP NY approval board, by majority vote, shall designate\ncorrectional facilities described in subdivision fourteen of section\nfour hundred thirty-one of this article, START-UP NY airport facilities\ndescribed in subdivision fifteen of section four hundred thirty-one of\nthis article and up to twenty strategic state assets as tax-free NY\nareas. Each shall be affiliated with a state university campus, city\nuniversity campus, community college, or private college or university\nand such designation shall require the support of the affiliated campus,\ncollege or university. Each strategic state asset and START-UP NY\nairport facility, other than a correctional facility, may not exceed a\nmaximum of two hundred thousand square feet of vacant land or vacant\nbuilding space designated as a tax-free NY area. Designation of\nstrategic state assets, correctional facilities described in subdivision\nfourteen of section four hundred thirty-one of this article, and\nSTART-UP NY airport facilities described in subdivision fifteen of\nsection four hundred thirty-one of this article as tax-free NY areas\nshall not count against any square footage limitations in section four\nhundred thirty-two of this article.\n 5. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations to effectuate the\npurposes of this section, including, but not limited to, establishing\nthe process for the plan submissions and approvals of tax-free NY areas\nand the eligibility criteria that will be applied in evaluating those\nplans.\n